Bookstore Witch
by Lainey
Summary: Chapter three: Quidditch! The usual quidditch game, but is the new flying teacher falling for Alex? R/R, my life depends on it.
1. Prologue: My Life in a Nutshell, Just to...

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Prologue: My Life in a Nutshell, Just to Bring You Up to Speed

To this day I don't understand how things could've worked out the way they did. They never do. Even things you think you have complete control over have a way of screwing themselves up. Ifni. Nevermind. It's that subtle risk of unpredictability that keeps our lives interesting. No matter how many things science explains away, nothing is 100% sure.

Anywhom, that's hardly the point. My point was, that in all reality, my life never should have happened. 

I knew at a young age that I was different. I saw things no one else could; patterns in the way things worked, or at least how they ended up happening. I picked up language easily: French, Spanish, German. I had a wide vocabulary in my native language, English. But I learned to hide my special abilities. I was completely normal to anyone you asked.

Sorry, I'm babbling. At 11 years of age—I swear I was normal before—I got quite a shock to my system: a letter. It was from Hogwarts of course, a letter inviting me to become a witch. So I did. I went to the school of witchcraft and wizardry for seven years. My parents weren't too thrilled, but they knew they couldn't stop me. If you asked any of my friends, I went to a fancy boarding school. But that's what happens when a muggle child becomes a witch. A few lies here and there to protect our secret. I also had to fib a bit when they'd ask over the summer which classes I was taking.

I had an average seven years at Hogwarts. Harry Potter was in his seventh year when I got there. I met him once or twice, but we weren't friends or anything. I was a Ravenclaw, and damn proud of it. I didn't play for the house quidditch team, but I was okay, playing with my friends in my spare time. 

I graduated with all the rest of my class. I achieved honours in any class that had to do with language, but my magical ability was nothing to shout at.

After Hogwarts, I had no idea what to do with my life. There aren't any wizard colleges. You go straight to whatever you want to do, and stay there. Some wizards take ordinary muggle jobs, but why anyone would want to do that, hiding their magic all the time, is a mystery to me. I knew I couldn't live with that. But still…what did I want to do?

The few friends I'd kept in contact with from my days as an ordinary muggle wanted me to come to college with them. So I had to go to some stuffy boarding school for the best years of my teenage life. Who cares? My parents couldn't choose what I did anymore. I was an adult. I almost went, but I didn't have the same level of education needed for college. I didn't know how I'd explain that to anyone.

So I got a job on the outside working in a pet shop while I decided what to do. I knew I didn't want to be at the Ministry, a bunch of stuffy wizards who moved too slow for their own good. I didn't think I wanted to teach. I'm not real fond of kids, never have been. It might have been bearable if it were an advanced class, sixth and seventh years only. And then I realised. I loved writing. I loved reading. I loved magic. Why not open a wizard bookstore? I could tell you how it all ends here, but that would spoil the surprise.

Disclaimer: I don't own much here, pretty much only Alex. The rest belongs to the wonderful JKR.

A/N: R/R, please, tell me how it's going.


	2. A Beginning

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Chapter 1: A Beginning

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Of course, Diagon Alley was already occupied by Flourish and Blotts, and I didn't want to compete with someone who's been around forever. Hogsmeade needed a decent bookstore, so that's where I decided to set up shop. Not that I knew at all how to go about setting up my bookstore. I went to the owner of Flourish and Blotts, a nice old witch named Andi Sillamere.

And this, friends, is where we take up the story.

***

I walked up to the door of Flourish and Blotts one day, about three months after my graduation from Hogwarts. It was September first, and the back-to-school rush had just gotten over. The inside of the store looked a little empty, after all, everyone had just bought out the supply of schoolbooks.

A bell rang as I pushed open the door. A woman came out to meet me. 

"Hullo, dear," she said to me. "How may I help you?" She seemed rather pleasant.

I smiled back. "I'm thinking of opening a bookstore in Hogsmeade. I don't have any idea of how to go about it, though, and I was wondering if I could speak to the owner about how he or she did it."

"You're looking at her." She held out her hand. "Madam Andi Sillamere at your service."

I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Alex Baretto."

"It's nice to meet you, too," she replied. "What would you like to know?"

"Well, I don't know. How did the store get opened? How do you run it? Anything you think would be helpful."

"No problem. Would you mind walking around the store with me and tidying up? I've just finished selling the last of my textbooks, and the schoolchildren are really rather messy." She turned and walked over to the nearest shelf where she began to neatly set the books into rows again.

"Sure," I replied, doing the same with the books on the opposite side of the aisle from her. "Why don't you clean up with your wand?" I asked.

She gave me an off-centre look over her shoulder. "It's too impersonal. It's like cooking. You may be able to conjure up all the ingredients, but sometimes you still have to get your hands messy. Besides, how could anyone be around books all day and not want to touch them?"

I smiled. I understood completely. I dropped a medium-sized book on the floor and immediately began apologizing.

"Oh, no, don't worry, it happens." She leaned over and picked up the turquoise book, looking at the cover. It was a grinning, waving picture of Gilderoy Lockhart. Magical Me, the title read. "It really is a shame about him. He may have been a fraud, but he sure sold a lot of books."

I laughed. "I wonder what they did with the old guy," I said.

"I wonder," she replied. She scrubbed at a spot on the cover, but it wouldn't go away. 

"Allow me," I said, taking the book from her. I retrieved my wand from my sleeve and cleaned the spot with a simple word. "You can't always do things by hand." I stood on tiptoe to replace the book from where it had originally fallen, but Madam Sillamere stopped me.

"Actually it goes over here," she told me. "I can't imagine what it was doing hiding up there where no one could see it." She took the book from my hand and placed it on a shelf that was eye-level on her side of the aisle.

"So," I said, still arranging, "give me a quick history of Flourish and Blotts?"

"It's been in the family for as long as it's been open. My great-grandmother opened it about a century and a half ago. She passed it down to my grandmother, then it went to me mum and finally to me. My great-grandmother loved books and everything to do with them. Of course she was a witch, you know, this being a wizard's store and all. Her daddy was the first in his family to have magic, and her mum was a muggle who took it quite well when she learned about it. Our whole family went to Hogwarts, and we were all Hufflepuffs. I assume you went there also? Which house?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Ah, good house. Anyways. When my grandmother graduated, she had this great idea to open a bookstore here in Diagon Alley, since the owner of the old bookstore was planning to up and move to America or some such. There was a lot more space over there, not so much of a chance of bein' found out." She paused and listened. The door had just opened and the bell had rung. She turned to me. "Can you hold on a moment, dear, while I go and help whoever that it?"

"Sure, no problem," I replied. I walked to the front of the store with her to see who had come in.

It was a tall young witch with long, straight, black hair. She stood patiently near the front counter looking over a display set near the window. She was dressed in simple, light-pink robes that covered her ankles.

"Hullo, how may I help you?" Madam Sillamere asked pleasantly. She swept up to the girl with a cheery smile on her face.

The girl looked up. "Hi," she replied. "I was wondering if you had any more copied of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?" she asked hopefully.

"A little old to be buying your books for Hogwarts, aren't we?" the shop owner joked.

The girl smiled. "Actually my little sister has just gone off to Hogwarts today, but she lost her copy, so I sent her with mine. I need a new one. Do you still have any?"

"I do. One last copy." She took down a battered book from a nearby shelf and handed it to her. "It's not exactly new, so I'll give it to you for half price. That'll be sixteen sickles, please."

The girl handed over the money and exited the shop.

Madam Sillamere turned back to me. "Well, it's nearly lunch time. Would you let me buy you lunch at that nice little Italian shop on the outside?"

I looked down at my pale blue robes. "I'm not exactly dressed to go out there," I told her.

"Oh, nonsense. I'm in there all the time on my lunch break, and I always wear my robes. They just think I'm strange. Now they'll think I have a strange friend. Come on, it'll be fun."

"All right, if you're sure."

She smiled broadly. "That's more like it. Let's go."

She led me out of the shop and waved her wand at the close door. A stream of letters that read "OUT TO LUNCH" attached themselves to the door.

We walked to the entrance to Diagon Alley, the wrought-iron gateway and stepped through into the courtyard behind The Leaky Cauldron. I followed her through the dim-lit bar and out onto the street. She turned down the street and entered a restaurant called Girababldi's, where we ate lunch. There she finished the story of the founding and upkeep of Flourish and Blotts.

"That was a lovely story, Madam Sillamere, and thank you very much for lunch, but I have to be somewhere in a hour. Will you excuse me please?"

"Of course. You're very welcome for lunch. Come back for a chat anytime, and tell me how it's going."

I left the restaurant and headed for home.

***

That night after I got home from work, there was a small brown owl waiting patiently on the balcony of my apartment. I opened the door and let it fly in.

"What've you got there?" I asked, untying the roll of parchment from its leg. The owl hooted softly and tapped at the window. I gave it an owl treat that I kept around for such an occasion before letting it fly off again. The parchment was a letter from Professor Dumbledore:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

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of WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

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(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss Alex Baretto,

The staff of Hogwarts has decided to expand its curriculum to include language classes in Latin, Ancient Greek and Ancient Hebrew. Because of your special talents in these areas, we are pleased to offer you the teaching position. Please owl back within one week with your answer.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

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Headmaster

Well, Andi Sillamere's grandmother had taken another job to save up for her bookstore, and I knew I should do the same. Life at the pet shop just wasn't a high-paying job. I decided to accept. I sat down with a quill and parchment and scratched out a letter of acceptance. When I was done I tied it to the leg of my barn owl, Maia, and tossed her out the window. 

I assumed the course would be starting immediately, so I packed what I would need for the year in my trunk and waited.

Disclaimer: I still don't own the wonderful world of JKR, just Alex, Maia, and a few other things you don't recognize.


	3. Teacher

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Chapter 2: Teacher

I received an owl from Dumbledore the next day, summoning me as soon as possible. My things were all packed; I had only one more thing to do. I hurried over to the pet shop and informed my manager that I was quitting. Then I left and came right home.

When I got home I gathered the only things I was taking, a large trunk and my owl to me and apparated to Hogsmeade, just outside the castle grounds. Levitating my things behind me, I walked up the path to the immense stone building. I mounted the stone steps that led to the front door. A gust of wind caught my hair and I breathed in the reassuring scent of my old school before opening the huge, oak doors.

Two people awaited me in the entrance hall. A wise old man in half-moon spectacles and flowing blue robes reached out to shake my hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Headmaster Dumbledore," I greeted, shaking his hand.

"Likewise, Alex," he replied.

"It's nice to see you, too, Professor McGonagall," I said, reaching out my hand to the stern-faced, black-haired witch.

"Please, Minerva," she replied, taking my hand.

"We didn't expect you so soon," Dumbledore said.

"Well I'd have sent Maia before me, but I can apparate faster than she can fly," I replied.

McGonagall's serious face broke into a smile. "She's got a point, Albus. Welcome aboard, Alex."

"Thank you," I said.

We stood in silence for a moment.

"Well," said Dumbledore suddenly, "let's get you settled. I've had rooms cleared for you on the fourth floor. I'll have your things sent up later, but right now it's lunchtime. Come eat with us. I'll introduce you to the students."

I followed the two into the great hall and up to the staff table. There was a seat cleared for me between Professors Snape and Trelawney. I silently prayed that the seats weren't permanent. They couldn't be.

Snape nodded and grunted as I sat. His attention and scowl quickly resumed their occupancy on the Gryffindor table, however, and I didn't mind much. Trelawney greeted me with a smile and a vigorous handshake, though.

"It's good to see you back so soon, dear. I predicted it over the summer, of course, but all the same, it's a nice development. I had no idea you wanted to be a teacher." The divination teacher beamed at me.

"It's nice to see you, too. I'm happy to be back," I replied, shaking her hand and sitting in my chair. I was seated near the right end of the table, and I looked to my left where Dumbledore was standing raising his hands for silence. After a moment the four large house tables fell quiet.

"Students of Hogwarts, I am pleased to introduce you to the newest addition to our teaching staff. Professor Alex Barreto will be our resident language expert." He motioned towards me and I stood, looking out over the sea of faces.

Dumbledore continued when I had sat back down. "Professor Baretto will be teaching courses in Ancient Greek, Latin and Ancient Hebrew which will begin next week. Students wishing to enroll in such courses will see their heads of house. That is all." He sat back down and we all finished eating.

Several people I knew waved at me from the house tables. I even caught a friends of mine mouthing, "You didn't tell me," and feigning a hurt expression.

After the meal I was shown to my rooms which consisted of a decent-sized sitting room and a spacious bedroom. There were a few pieces of furniture, but decorating seemed mainly to have been left up to me. I didn't really have anything with me to decorate with, but I figured I'd stop by my apartment back in London and get whatever I needed the next weekend. I unpacked my trunk, hanging my clothes in the wardrobe and arranging my books on an old bookshelf that took up an entire wall of the sitting room.

I paced around the room. What was I supposed to be doing? What was it that teachers _did_ in their spare time, anyway? I pulled out a large tome labeled Latin for Early Learners. I found a quill and some parchment, and began to scratch out a basic lesson plan.

***

"Now, I know that you have no teaching experience," Dumbledore began at our meeting in the staff room later, "but because of your particular talents, we all felt that you would be ideal."

I nodded. "That makes sense, Profess—Albus." I kept trying to call my old teachers Professor Such-and-such. After all, that was how I'd addressed them not three months ago.

Dumbledore smiled at my slip. "It will take some getting used to, _Alex_."

"No kidding."

"Anyhow, I'm going to help you prepare your lesson plans. Have you brought the basic texts for each class?" He spread out a pile of parchment rolls and quills on the coffee table we were seated at.

I pulled out three voluminous tomes and stacked them on the corner of the table. "I have all of them here," I said. "I guess we can start with Latin; it'll be the easiest for everyone."

We worked until dinner, taking notes and making three rough course outlines. After an exhausting three hours' work, we left the staff room for the great hall.

***

"Welcome to Latin class. I am your teacher, Alex Baretto. I know most of you, seeing as how I only graduated last year." I smiled around at my new class, made up of about 15 sixth and seventh years. I saw two girls whom I didn't know, so I walked over. "It's nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand.

"Illi Hampton," the blonde one said, shaking my hand.

"Amelia Dune," the one with black hair said.

I walked back to the front of my classroom. "Now I think you're supposed to call me Professor Baretto, but that makes me feel old, so we'll stick with Alex, at least inside the classroom, okay?" There were some nods. "Okay, now on to Latin.

"As many of you may know, the standard language for casting spells is Latin, so you all have a basic background in it. But in this class, we're going to start with syntax."

My first class went all right, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. A few of the students were friends of mine, but they behaved well in class and I tried not to favor them.

The next class I taught was more fifth years and a few sixths. A knew less of them, but all told it went pretty well. I overheard some of them in the hall after class.

"It is so cool that Alex is teaching," a blonde seventh year named Alayna remarked.

"I know," replied a girl I didn't know. "It almost makes up for the fact that we have Snape next."

I smiled and continued on my way. Things were looking good so far for this new teacher.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of JKR's people, places or ideas.

A/N: I do own Alex, and anyone else you don't recognize. R/R, por favor. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Like to be in the story? Put it in review and tell me what you think!


	4. Quidditch

Chapter 3: Quidditch  
  
Madam Hooch had retired two years earlier in my sixth year, and Oliver Wood had taken her place. The energetic young wizard enjoyed his job as flying teacher and quidditch referee. He had tried out for the Chudley Cannons as soon as he'd graduated, but they told him to keep practicing and come back in a few years. When he wasn't teaching first years to fly, he was playing or studying the sport.  
  
I approached him one Saturday morning in early October on the quidditch field.  
  
"Ho, Oliver!" I cried, my broomstick in my hand.  
  
"Hullo, Alex," he replied, looking up from his own broom. "Fine day for a game, wouldn't you say?"  
  
"Lovely. I was wondering if you could help me." I stopped walking as I reached him. "I'm a bit rusty on my flying, you see. Could you spare a couple of minutes?"  
  
"Sure, I'd love to help," he answered. "But I must say, practice is the best way to improve."  
  
I smiled. "That's what I'm here for." I swung a leg over my broomstick and kicked off from the ground.  
  
Oliver grinned and joined me in the air. "First let me see what you can do."  
  
"All right." I was only a few feet off the ground, so I flew a little higher. Cautiously I eased myself forward and jerkily turned from side to side. I could see Oliver out of the corner of my eye trying not to laugh.  
  
"I'm not that bad," I said, stopping and turning to face him.  
  
"I know. I'm sorry. Why don't you follow me around for a few minutes to get the feel of it back?"  
  
For the next ten minutes I followed him slowly around in the air. He led me through turns and ups and downs and arounds until I was fairly confident in my flying ability again. Then we played tag for a little while, which ended up being more of me chasing him around while he easily evaded me, but it was fun anyway.  
  
"Much better," he said, halting and turning to me.  
  
"Thanks, I feel a lot better about it," I replied, sitting more at ease.  
  
"So are you enjoying being a teacher here at Hogwarts?" he asked, slowly circling down to the ground.  
  
I followed. "I like it alright. It is kind of weird, though, since I went to school here."  
  
"I know what you mean. It must be really odd to be teaching your friends. But it is nice to have new classes. I wish they'd have had ancient language classes while I was here."  
  
"I'd be happy to teach you in my spare time," I offered.  
  
"Yeah? I'm really only interested in Greek." He walked over to the sideline and sat in a sunny patch between two of the stands. I followed and sat next to him.  
  
"That's cool. We can work on weekends or after classes."  
  
"Or both."  
  
"Or both."  
  
***  
  
Halloween came stormy yet cheery. The great hall was festooned with glowing pumpkins, floating candles and live bats. Thunder and lightning raced across the enchanted ceiling. It was as breathtaking as ever. The smell of baking pumpkin pies had been wafting through the castle all day.  
  
I attended the feast in new orange and black robes I'd picked up in Hogsmeade. I entered the hall, ducking out of the way of a few stray bats.  
  
"Hey Al--Professor Baretto! Happy Halloween!" Alayna called as I passed the Gryffindor table.  
  
"You too!" I replied over the noise of the feasting students. I made my way to the front of the hall. Oliver Wood had saved me a seat, and he hailed me over to him.  
  
"Happy Halloween, Alex," he said as I sat next to him.  
  
"Happy Halloween." I grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice and toasted with him. A large crack of thunder sounded overhead and I ducked.  
  
"I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow," Oliver said glancing up. "I mean, you know, first quidditch match of the season and all."  
  
Ah, yes. Quidditch. It always came back down to that. In any case, I hoped it would be a bit dryer, too. The first match was the next day, and it was Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. Whoever won would pull the lead in the house cup competition. Of course, I as a teacher was supposed to remain impartial, but deep down I still felt a little loyalty for my old house.  
  
The next day indeed was dryer than Halloween, if somewhat overcast. It was gray and gloomy but not a drop fell, and everyone was excited. I sat up in one of the stands on the Ravenclaw side, carefully dressed in impartial colors.  
  
"Welcome to the first quidditch match of the season!" announced a third year Hufflepuff doing commentary. His name was Josh McGovern "Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor on this cheerfully cloudy day." The crowd roared.  
  
"And here come our players now!" McGovern continued. "For Gryffindor the chasers are James Smith, Miranda Gutshall and Nimoüe Linden! Keeper is played by Andrew Needle! Their beaters are Erin Marks and Kyle Lynch! And making his debut as seeker, Jeremy Waer!" The Gryffindor side erupted in cheers as the new seeker stepped onto the field. The Ravenclaw side clapped politely.  
  
"For Ravenclaw, we have Rich Ilmári for keeper! Sam Anderson, Renna Dinucchi and Dean Manning are the chasers! As beaters we have Mári and José Rodriguez. And their seeker of three years, Eric Bryce!" It was our turn to scream at the top of our lungs as the players came onto the field.  
  
Oliver Wood stood in the center of the fourteen players. "On my whistle"--he paused to throw a wink in my direction--"three, two, one, go!" He blew his whistle and fifteen people took to the air.  
  
"And right away Dinucchi's got the quaffle. She dodges a blugder from Lynch and--oh! hit by one from Marks. Smith gets off with the quaffle and scored for Gryffindor! The score is now 10-0, Gryffindor. Linden gets the quaffle for Gryffindor and zooms down the center of the field, shoots, nice save by Ilmári! Manning takes the ball...score for Ravenclaw!" Our side cheered loudly.  
  
Two hours and a lot of points later, Eric Bryce caught the snitch and won the game, 300 to 250. Ravenclaw won the first quidditch match of the season.  
  
Disclaimer: Once again (or is it still?) I do not claim any ownership to J.K. Rowling's people, places or ideas.  
  
A/N: Chapter three done. Hope ya liked it. R/R, will ya? I enjoy writing this, and I'll enjoy it a lot more once I know you enjoy reading it. Comments? Suggestions? Complaints? Well review and tell me about it!!!! Or you could always write me at [1]lainey_marie_03@hotmail.com. See y'all next chapter. Happy fan fictioning!  
  
References  
  
1. mailto:lainey_marie_03@hotmail.com 


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